Button Menu

Our Community Stories

  • About
  • Our Community Stories
Naima Shifa
Building Connections

Naima Shifa

The biggest part of my teaching is building connections with my students and creating a community in…

Meet Naima Shifa
Zoe Green
Spiritual Self-Discovery

Zoe Green

Growing up in a military family, Zoe Green ’27 became accustomed to transition at a young age. Having…

Meet Zoe Green
Molly Madden
Transformative Encounters

Molly Madden

What I find impressive about DePauw is its smaller size and breadth of opportunities. In the classroom…

Meet Molly Madden
Andrea Sununu
The Difference is in the Details

Andrea Sununu

For over 30 years I’ve taught literature at DePauw and welcomed the chance to serve not only as teacher…

Meet Andrea Sununu
Tanner Austin
From Guernsey to Greencastle

Tanner Austin

“I came out here on a limb,” says Tanner Austin ’28. “It's just unbelievably lucky how it all worked…

Meet Tanner Austin
Shea Nickell
Passion to serve

Shea Nickell

Shea Nickell ’81 considers the greatest payday of his career to have been one that didn’t involve a check…

Meet Shea Nickell
Hanna Coffel
A Life-Changing Invitation

Hanna Coffel

When DePauw’s softball coach invited Hanna Coffel ’26 to campus as a high school sophomore, it was the…

Meet Hanna Coffel
Moeez Islam Malik
Initiative and Empathy

Moeez Islam Malik

“I never knew that I would be a leader,” admits Moeez Islam Malik ’27. Yet just a few years into his…

Meet Moeez Islam Malik
John Berry
Innovative Artistry

John Berry

Success and accomplishment flow from the challenging work done in the classroom and studio at DePauw…

Meet John Berry
Erik Wielenberg
Freedom to Explore

Erik Wielenberg

Since 1999, Erik Wielenberg has been a fixture of the philosophy department at DePauw University. Not…

Meet Erik Wielenberg
Ibilola Fasogbon
Appetite for Discovery

Ibilola Fasogbon

Ibilola Fasogbon ’28 has always been driven by curiosity and adventure. As a child, she found nearly…

Meet Ibilola Fasogbon
Brian Culp
Creative Culture-Making

Brian Culp

“I was nervous going into the game,” says Brian Culp ’06. With over 120 million viewers tuning into the…

Meet Brian Culp
Tanaa Jones
Formed by Faith

Tanaa Jones

Growing up in Nashville, Tenn., Tanaa Jones ’26 was taught from an early age how to see the world through…

Meet Tanaa Jones
Brandon Collins
Forming a Path in Public Health

Brandon Collins

Brandon Collins '23, a neuroscience and global health double major, chose DePauw because of the small…

Meet Brandon Collins
Mahmoud Abouelkheir
Embracing Community

Mahmoud Abouelkheir

I felt hesitant about coming to DePauw because of its location in a rural part of Indiana. Growing up…

Meet Mahmoud Abouelkheir
Paige Burgess
Orchestrating Connection

Paige Burgess

As a music education major, Paige Burgess ’25 understands how a collection of otherwise dissimilar notes…

Meet Paige Burgess
Ha Chu
Pivotal Moments

Ha Chu

“It changed my life,” says Ha Chu ’26, recalling an interaction early in her time at DePauw with Larry…

Meet Ha Chu
Bella Zollner
Hope Is the Solution

Bella Zollner

Bella Zollner ’27 isn’t the type to sit on the sidelines. She prefers to be in the heart of the action…

Meet Bella Zollner
 Troy Tien Nguyen
Giving Back

Troy Tien Nguyen

For domestic students, going to college is a new and exciting thing. But for international students,…

Meet Troy Tien Nguyen
 Sarah Rowley
Fostering Personal Connections

Sarah Rowley

What excites me about teaching? Everything! The magic that happens in the classroom is completely dependent…

Meet Sarah Rowley
Sharon Crary
Global Impact

Sharon Crary

Professor Sharon Crary has studied the devastating effects of the Ebola virus for 15 years. Since the…

Meet Sharon Crary
Evan Steffy
Exploration through liberal arts

Evan Steffy

Being from the Greencastle area, DePauw has always been present in my life. I knew I wanted a smaller…

Meet Evan Steffy
Christian Rivera
Confidence In Leadership

Christian Rivera

I came to DePauw as a Posse Scholar from an inner-city high school, already credited for my leadership…

Meet Christian Rivera
Jordan Sjol
The Perfect Place for Filmmaking

Jordan Sjol

Jordan Sjol may be relatively new to the DePauw University faculty, but as assistant professor of film…

Meet Jordan Sjol
Craig Paré
A Collaborative Approach

Craig Paré

I love that our students come to classes and rehearsals hungry to learn and, when challenged, respond…

Meet Craig Paré
Deepa Prakash
Embracing Unpredictable Moments

Deepa Prakash

What excites me about teaching is the opportunity to discuss and learn about the pressing issues that…

Meet Deepa Prakash
Greg Schwipps
Working Together

Greg Schwipps

I am a DePauw professor but also a 1995 DePauw alumnus. I started my first-year at DePauw a would-be…

Meet Greg Schwipps
Nushla Pradhan
Experiencing it All

Nushla Pradhan

I was interested in natural sciences and social sciences, and I wanted a good blend of different classes…

Meet Nushla Pradhan
Sydney Schloemer
Making Connections

Sydney Schloemer

No matter what activity Sydney Schloemer ’26 has found herself doing at DePauw, her ultimate goal has…

Meet Sydney Schloemer
Bree Mahoney-Sutherland
An Affinity for Black and Gold

Bree Mahoney-Sutherland

I come from a long line of black and gold. With our lineage coming directly from an original board of…

Meet Bree Mahoney-Sutherland